U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0164412 describes a system for 3D-navigation for motor vehicles, which includes an arrangement that combines a first motor vehicle and an environment scanner to generate a three-dimensional image of an environment of the first motor vehicle or at least a part of the environment of the first motor vehicle, as well as at least one second motor vehicle and a communication connection between the first motor vehicle and the second motor vehicle for transmitting to the second motor vehicle the three-dimensional image of the environment around the first motor vehicle or at least a part of the environment around the first motor vehicle.
European Published Patent Application No. 0 875 730 and German Published Patent Application No. 698 15 940 describe a map data display device for use in a vehicle navigation device which has a data-conversion device for recording points of map data according to a map, from a viewpoint through a viewing line that originates from the viewpoint and has an angle of depression with respect to the plane of the map; and for perspectively projecting the points of the map data onto a viewing plane, which is fixed perpendicularly to the viewing line and is a predefined distance from the viewpoint, in order to generate map display data. This produces a bird's eye view of a surrounding area. A navigation system having a bird's eye view of an environment is also described in French Published Patent Application No. 2 634 707 as well as in the document “autoconnect 2005,” Vereinigte Motor-Verlage GmbH & Co. KG, Leuschnerstr. 1, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany, pages 18 and 21.